Sunrise & sunset times in Columbus
Sunrise in Columbus today is at 07:29 and sunset is at 19:12, giving 11h 43m of daylight (times for Thursday, 1 October 2026, in Columbus's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 18:36 to 19:12. The moon is a waning gibbous at 67% illumination.
Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for Columbus, United States. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.
On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 06:03 and sets at 21:04 in Columbus (15h 1m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 07:50 and sets at 17:10 (9h 20m).
| Event | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:35 | 19:44 | 12h 9m |
| June solstice | 06:03 | 21:04 | 15h 1m |
| September equinox | 07:19 | 19:28 | 12h 9m |
| December solstice | 07:50 | 17:10 | 9h 20m |
Full sun timeline for Columbus
Civil dawn, when the sky starts to brighten before sunrise.
The moment the top edge of the sun appears on the horizon.
End of the soft, warm morning light photographers love.
The sun reaches its highest point in the sky for the day.
Start of the warm, low evening light before sunset.
The moment the sun dips fully below the horizon.
Civil dusk, when the last usable daylight fades.
Golden hour and blue hour in Columbus
The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.
Moon over Columbus
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:51 | 17:31 | 9h 39m |
| February | 07:24 | 18:07 | 10h 43m |
| March | 07:43 | 19:38 | 11h 55m |
| April | 06:54 | 20:10 | 13h 16m |
| May | 06:17 | 20:40 | 14h 23m |
| June | 06:02 | 21:02 | 15h 0m |
| July | 06:15 | 20:59 | 14h 44m |
| August | 06:43 | 20:28 | 13h 45m |
| September | 07:12 | 19:40 | 12h 28m |
| October | 07:42 | 18:52 | 11h 10m |
| November | 07:17 | 17:15 | 9h 58m |
| December | 07:46 | 17:07 | 9h 21m |
Sun and moon in Columbus
If you are scheduling a rooftop dinner or an early hike, the daily sun and moon schedule for Columbus is easy to check here. This page shows live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, morning and evening golden hour, blue hour, dawn and dusk, plus the current moon phase and the moonrise and moonset times for Columbus. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of Columbus, United States. Columbus sits at roughly 39.96 degrees north, in the northern hemisphere, so it sees a clear but moderate seasonal swing, with noticeably longer days in summer and cosier, earlier sunsets in winter. Because the length of the day changes with the seasons, the exact sunrise and sunset in Columbus shift from week to week. Pick any date with the date picker to see how the light will fall on a specific day, which is handy for planning a shoot, an event, a wedding, a flight or simply the best moment to catch the last warm light of the evening. Golden hour, that soft warm window near sunrise and sunset, is the favourite of photographers in Columbus. Blue hour, the cooler stretch just before sunrise and just after sunset, is ideal for cityscapes and long exposures. Combined with the moon phase and moon times, this gives you a complete picture of natural light over Columbus, United States for any day of the year.
What time is sunset in Columbus today?
The sun sets in Columbus at 19:12 (just after midnight) today, Thursday, 1 October 2026, in Columbus's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 18:36, giving 36 minutes of low golden light before the sun reaches the horizon. Sunset is not the end of the light either. Last light, the moment usable daylight ends at civil dusk, follows 27 minutes later at 19:39, and the sky is properly dark at 20:42, 1h 30m after sunset.
Tomorrow the sun sets at 19:12 in Columbus. That is 1 minute 37 seconds earlier than today. Over the coming week sunset moves 11 minutes 10 seconds earlier.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in Columbus right now?
Columbus gets 11h 46m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 2 minutes 36 seconds shorter. Over the next seven days Columbus loses 18 minutes 8 seconds of daylight.
That pace is not constant. In Columbus the day length changes fastest around March, near the equinox, when it moves by about 2 minutes 39 seconds per day, and it slows almost to a stop at the solstices in June and December. The word solstice means exactly that: the sun standing still.
When are the earliest and latest sunrise and sunset in Columbus?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Columbus falls on 7 December at 17:06, 14 days before the December solstice, and the latest on 27 June at 21:04.
Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 13 June at 06:02, latest on 31 October at 08:00, the last morning before the clocks go back. One of these dates is pinned by the clocks rather than by the sky: a daylight saving change in Columbus moves sunrise and sunset by a whole hour overnight, so the earliest and latest times on the clock land on either side of it. The rest is astronomy. Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical and its axis is tilted, so the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year. That offset, the equation of time, is what pushes the earliest sunset ahead of the shortest day and the latest sunrise behind it.
| Extreme | Date | Local time | Why then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earliest sunrise | 13 Jun 2026 | 06:02 | 8 days before the June solstice |
| Latest sunrise | 31 Oct 2026 | 08:00 | the last morning before the clocks go back |
| Earliest sunset | 7 Dec 2026 | 17:06 | 14 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunset | 27 Jun 2026 | 21:04 | 6 days after the June solstice |
These are wall-clock times, so Columbus's daylight saving change is part of the picture: an hour moved by the clocks counts the same as an hour moved by the Earth.
How long does twilight last in Columbus?
First light in Columbus arrives 27 minutes before sunrise today, at 07:02. After sunset the light hangs on for another 27 minutes, until 19:39. That evening stretch is not the same all year in Columbus: it runs from 27 minutes at its shortest, in September, to 33 minutes at its longest, in June. The lower the angle at which the sun crosses the horizon, the longer twilight lasts, which is why dusk is a slow affair at high latitudes and abrupt near the equator.
How high does the sun get in Columbus?
At midday on the June solstice the sun stands 73.5 degrees above the horizon in Columbus. On the December solstice it climbs only 26.6 degrees. A midday sun that low throws a shadow about 2.0 times the height of whatever casts it, so even at noon in midwinter the shadows in Columbus are long ones.
Frequently asked questions about Columbus
What time is sunrise in Columbus today?
The sun rises in Columbus, United States at 07:29 on Thursday, 1 October 2026, and sets at 19:12. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of Columbus.
When is golden hour in Columbus?
Columbus has two golden hours each day. On Thursday, 1 October 2026 the morning window runs from 07:29 to 08:05, and the evening window from 18:36 to 19:12, all in local time. Pick another date above to plan a shoot down to the minute.
Why do sunrise and sunset change through the year in Columbus?
Because Columbus lies in the northern hemisphere, its days are longest around June and shortest around December. In Columbus the longer solstice day runs about 15h 1m and the shorter one about 9h 20m, as shown in the table above. As Earth orbits the Sun, the point on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets moves, which lengthens or shortens the day and shifts sunrise and sunset times.
Are the times for Columbus accurate?
Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of Columbus and shown in its local time zone. They are accurate to about a minute for a clear, flat horizon. Hills, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment you actually see the Sun by a few minutes.
Does this page show the moon phase for Columbus?
Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for Columbus are all shown for the selected date, so you can plan around a full moon or a dark new moon sky.
How much daylight does Columbus gain or lose each day?
Columbus has 11h 46m of daylight on Thursday, 1 October 2026 and is losing daylight: 18 minutes 8 seconds over the following seven days, with tomorrow 2 minutes 36 seconds shorter than today. The daily change is at its largest near the March and September equinoxes and almost stops at the June and December solstices.
When is the earliest sunset in Columbus?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Columbus is on 7 December at 17:06, 14 days before the December solstice. The earliest sunset and the shortest day are not the same date, because the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year, an effect called the equation of time.
How long does it stay light after sunset in Columbus?
About 27 minutes on Thursday, 1 October 2026. The sun sets at 19:12 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 19:39, with full astronomical darkness at 20:42. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.
Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from Columbus's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates 39.96, -83.00, time zone America/New_York. Accurate to about a minute for a flat, unobstructed horizon; terrain, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment the sun is actually visible by a few minutes. Full method on methodology.
Nearby cities
Sun and moon times for places close to Columbus. Sunrise and sunset shift as you move east, west, north or south.
Popular cities
More light tools
Understand the light
Plain-English guides to the moments that shape the day in Columbus and everywhere else.
Keep Columbus in your calendar
Subscribe to a live feed of Columbus's sunrise and sunset in your own calendar app, so today's light is always a glance away. It updates by itself, with no account.